Five new universities to open on South African soil

The establishment of five new universities over the next decade will widen the scope of professional qualifications on offer at tertiary institutions in South Africa.

As it currently stands, the country boasts 26 official government-owned universities.

The National Development Plan aims to accommodate 1.6 million students in higher education by 2030.

This ambitious plan to afford young people who wish to further their studies after matric, access to higher education, calls for the private sector to hold hands with the state to deliver on the growing demand for educational hubs.

Earlier this year, the Department of Higher Education and Training revealed that plans are afoot to get the building projects of two new government universities underway in 2025.

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New govt universities to cost ‘couple of billions’

The two new universities include the University of Policing and Crime Detection in Hammanskraal and the University of Science and Innovation in Ekurhuleni.

The plan to establish these universities were first announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa back in his 2020 State of the Nation Address (Sona).

In an update to the portfolio committee in February, the department’s head of infrastructure support, Bhekithemba Mlambo, shared ballpark estimation figures for the building cost pointed to “a couple of billions”.

“We are looking at a couple of billions to make sure that the two universities are built, renovated and ready for commissioning in the years to come.”

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Government universities

University of Policing and Crime Detection – Hammanskraal

According to BusinessTech, the initial plans were to establish a higher education institution. A decision was however made to turn the project into a university instead.

The department aims to build capacity and professionalise the police service and crime prevention sector with the institution.

The university will offer the following qualifications:

The department said that the university is predicted to grow to approximately 2 700 students and 276 staff over the first 10 years.

Financially, it is expected to trade at a deficit for “at least” the first 10 years of operation and record a cashflow shortfall for at least the first 12 years. This will require at least R400 million in ad hoc grant funding to cover.

University of Science and Innovation – Ekurhuleni

The University of Science and Innovation will be built in the City of Ekurhuleni, with government-owned land in Boksburg identified as the prime location.

According to the department’s feasibility studies, the location is seen as ideal as it is in a highly visible area with the “potential to establish an iconic identity overlooking the town”.

The department anticipates a trade deficit for at least the first five years, with a cash shortfall for at least the first nine years. This will require ad hoc grant funding of R420 million over this time, it said.

The university is predicted to grow to approximately 2 000 students and 180 staff over the first 10 years of operation.

Private tertiary institutions

Three more private tertiary institutions are set to open in the next couple of years.

Akademia

Trade union Solidarity is involved in a R3 billion private Afrikaans “community university”, which will be constructed along Boschkop Road in Pretoria East, eight kilometres from Solomon Mahlangu Drive.

According to the Akademia website, the project “represents a major historical turning point to ensure the sustainability of higher education in Afrikaans”.

The new campus offers Akademia the opportunity to make available an extensive academic programme offering with a campus able to cater for 5 000 full-time undergraduate students and about 1 500 postgraduate students.

“Phase one of the project [set to commence in January 2026] will amount to approximately R1.8 billion and will be completed on 1 January 2028,” Henk Schalekamp, managing director of real estate development company Kanton, explained.

“The second phase involves the completion of the academic campus and residences, followed by the sports facilities, chapel and auditorium,” he added.

‘Realisation of a big dream’

Akademia managing director Marthinus Visser called the new campus the “realisation of a big dream”.

“This requires the strength of an aligned community that can achieve the seemingly impossible through unity and cooperation,” Visser said.

Akademia already has two smaller physical campuses and four residences in Centurion, but it regards these as interim infrastructure solutions.

Here’s the degrees, diplomas and certificates currently offered by Akademia.

ADvTECH

The ADvTECH group is in the process of acquiring a suitable building that can be adapted into a university campus, subject to Competition Commission’s approval.

If the purchase goes through, the new university will result in a R419 million capital investment over the next two years, according to ADvTECH CEO Geoff Whyte.

“Expansion projects are currently underway at Rosebank College’s mega-campuses in Cape Town, Pretoria and Braamfontein,” added Whyte.

“A new purpose-built Vega campus is under construction in Pretoria, adjacent to Varsity College, which will be more suitable than the existing premises.”

“AdvTech also completed expansion projects at the Varsity College Pretoria and Cape Town campuses to increase capacity in response to continued strong demand.”

The group is also on a mission to have all its tertiary education centres as universities.

Currently, all South African universities are government-owned and private education providers cannot call themselves universities.

University status

Following the publishing of draft regulations in September 2022 which set out the criteria to qualify as a university, amended criteria were published in April this year.

According to Whyte, the group submitted its comments in May and is awaiting the publishing of the Government Gazette before the end of 2024.      

“Recognition as a university will ultimately benefit our students who will then rightfully be afforded the same status as their public university peers. We continue to engage with the Department of Higher Education and Training to move forward on this issue,” Whyte said.   

Stadio

JSE-listed private higher education specialist Stadio announced in March this year the planned construction of its comprehensive Durbanville campus in Cape Town.

CEO Chris Vorster said it decided to start the Durbanville campus due to an increasing demand for another in-person campus.

“We see fantastic student number growth. We are very confident that the model is working and so we want to go ahead with the construction,” Vorster told BusinessLIVE.

Stadio plans to open the new location with 1 000 students in 2026. It is also considering using it to support distance-education students who need to use computer labs or facilities after hours. 

The board has approved the construction of the campus in phases, with construction for phase one starting in the second half of 2024 at a cost of R220 million. The construction will be funded 50% in cash and the rest through long-term debt.

The group previously said that the number of students on its new Centurion campus increased by 52%, confirming its decision to start constructing its second comprehensive campus.

 Stadio offers almost 100 accredited courses, including law, policing, film, IT, architecture, education and chartered accounting.

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